Relativistic Correction to the Magnetic Moment of the Charged Lepton

TL;DR

This paper derives a comprehensive relativistic Hamiltonian for charged leptons, enabling precise calculations of magnetic moments and g-factors in various electromagnetic environments, including highly charged ions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, gauge-consistent relativistic Hamiltonian that includes first-order corrections for arbitrary electromagnetic fields, extending beyond traditional methods.

Findings

Derived a general relativistic Hamiltonian applicable to bound and scattering systems.

Computed the O(alpha^2) correction to the g-factor, revealing a new mj^2-dependent term.

Showed relativistic effects are significant in highly charged ions, comparable to QFT corrections.

Abstract

We derive a general relativistic Hamiltonian valid for both bound and scattering systems by reducing the four-component Dirac equation to a two-component Dirac-Pauli form. Unlike conventional approaches, our formulation includes first-order relativistic corrections in a compact, gauge-consistent expression applicable to arbitrary electromagnetic fields - including non-uniform and time-dependent configurations. As an application, we compute the O(alpha^2) relativistic correction to the Lande g-factor in hydrogen-like atoms, revealing a novel mj^2-dependent term that generalizes the Breit result. This correction is experimentally testable in Penning trap spectroscopy. We further show that relativistic effects become comparable to QFT corrections in highly charged ions where Z ~ 1/sqrt(alpha)